House Anthor

House Anthor is a a large and powerful Vandal House located inside the port of Stormwind within the Kingdom Of Lucerne. House Anthor is the vassal of House Lovie, and for this reason they have always been quite powerful through this relationship, and are often held beside House Martell, and House Highmore as the most loyal of the House Lovie vassals. House Anthor grew exponensially when they were given the control of the newly constructed Port of Stormwind, and through this port they have become one of the most powerful houses in the entire Kingdom of Lucerne when before they were a middling house. This power increase they hold directly because of House Lovie, and their leadership under Varian Anthor is dire hard loyalists to House Lovie without question or resolve.

House Anthor was once a member of House Ordos but following the marriage of Nevia Ordos to a commoner they travelled north to Lucerne where he was knighted and founded a knightly house which following his success in the Driving Tide became a vassal of House Lovie. As a vassal of House Lovie House Anthor became especially powerful and wealthy, but the land they controlled west of Lucerne wasn't the best of places so they were in the middle wrung of the houses of House Lovie. The fate of House Anthor changed dramatically after they were given the control of the Port of Stormwind, and thus overnight they were one of the most powerful houses in the entire Kingdom of Lucerne.

Contents

History

Early History

House Anthor was once a member of House Ordos but following the marriage of Nevia Ordos to a commoner they travelled north to Lucerne where he was knighted and founded a knightly house which following his success in the Driving Tide became a vassal of House Lovie. As a vassal of House Lovie House Anthor became especially powerful and wealthy, but the land they controlled west of Lucerne wasn't the best of places so they were in the middle wrung of the houses of House Lovie.

Founding of Anthor

Founding of AnthorFather it is time. You must come with us. This is the only way the Kingdom can ever truly heal.

“It was east where I saw our future. It was in our expansion into the Riverlands, Westbridge and Westros that the growth of the kingdom would be built, and it all started with growth in what we actually had.”

— William Lovie III.

Following the crowning of William Lovie III. as the King of Lucerne many drastic changes were going on in the Kingdom of Lucerne, and one of these was the idea of the necessity of a port in eastern Lucerne to be the center of the navy of Lucerne. This eastern location would also allow them to combat the increasing piracy that was coming from Yairs (Region) and in time William wanted to incorporate them into the Kingdom of Lucerne. William also wanted to expand the control of the Lucernian Kingdom in the east with the feeling that most of the region was either of dubious loyalty or underpopulated the region of Anthor was chosen for the site of the new port. The Order of the Red Dragon had the funds and materials needed to begin construction of the Lucerne navy but no great port existed, and Lannistane was deemed to dangerous a location to do it at since the Lannisters couldn't be fully trusted. William would send Varian Anthor his family and vassals eastward where they would found a port on the island now to be named Anthor. The Port of Eastfall would become the beacon of the eastern section in a part of the land where there was little Lucernian presence. The vast province of Winterfell was somewhat broken up to make way for the larger state of Anthor and the many provinces within it, and this was compromise of later giving House Starke land north of Anthor (Later would become Hentwood). The lands that became Anthor would be rich in fishing, and had some mining, but the main operations of the house would be built around Eastfall and the trade that would grow from being the center of eastern trade for the Kingdom of Lucerne.

“House Anthor nearly bankrupted itself constructing the port, but as the loans from the Hales, and Lovie's flowed in the fears were somewhat alayed. This was going to be their main holding and for them you could tell by talking to Varian that he wanted it perfect. He dreamed of Stormwind, and Lucerne when constructing the port.”

— Leonardo Mevinlo

The Port of Eastfall's construction would be the responsibility of both House Anthor and the Order of the Grey Dragon of whom had already worked magic reconstructing Tree Hill. The Port of Eastfall was constructed over several months and during this time House Anthor was busy travelling around the new state making sure that everything was going according to plan, and during this time they were met by members of House Starke who arrived in the near built port of Eastfall. During this time Leonardo Mevinlo would arrive in the port with nearly two hundred engineers and thousands of workmen from the west. Leonard had been tasked with completing the port as quickly as possible and that the Order would fund a basic design on its own, and that House Anthor would be responsible for any expansions on the plan. Finding Varian very much interested in growth he would be tasked with quickly adding to the construction several extra docks, and a large expansion of the Anthor esates.

Candice Anthor was the most trusted person for Varian Anthor and she was placed in charge of directing around all the nobles visiting the Port of Stormwind.

“We were gaining a Noble House in our lands, and that was something we had to keep a close eye on. House Anthor was known for its honor, but honor is something often spoke of and unless tested how can one know.”

— Jon Snow

The Starke's were led by Robb , and Brandon Starke while accompanied by Jon Snow and his friend Samwell Tarly in order to meet with the new Noble House that existed on their doorstep. Kevan Ambry also arrived in the area in order to make sure everyone knew that he was the first in line for the lands north of Anthor that were being promiced, and he arrived around the time that Keven, and Tyrek Lannister also arrived in order to see what was happening and how it would affect Castamere. Candice Anthor was placed in charge of leading the visiting nobles around and making sure they were kept happy, and she did this extremely effectively to the point that Keven Lannister bid her whether she would be open to a marriage to young Tytos Lannister. She would politely refuse but Jon Snow was listening in and watched as she eyed him afar, and after this she would confront Jon on evesdropping. She would kiss him, and the two would begin to take it farther until he stopped her telling her that his heart was with another. Following this the whole group would group together to meet with a large party of Frey's that her father had bid come to the port and see the scope of what was planned in order to further relations under the overal command of William.

Frey Trouble

“The Frey's were know as a rotten bunch but you didn't realize until you actually saw them that the rumors were true.”

— Jon Snow

Candice Anthor, and Jon Snow would continue to spend time together and she continued to attempt to seduce him, but his father's teachings about honor made him unable to do so. She would go to the port when the Freys arrived with Jon Snow beside her, and as the Freys visited it seemed clear to the Lucernians that the Freys were after a marriage. After discussions over the female Frey's that they brought with them went well it was believed by all those that were there that everything was going according to plan. After the Freys returned with Roslin Frey the most pretty of the girls that had been sent the Lucernians would make the mistake of not bringing Tytos Lannister to the meeting (Keven had been commanded not to by Tywin Lannister knowing that it would make them think it was Robb Starke they were offering) and this led the Frey's to believe that Robb was being offered. When this was made verbal there was laughter from several Lucernians who saw it as a joke that the Freys would believe Robb Starke would marry someone like a Frey. Black Walder Frey would take out his sword and fighting nearly broke out before his father Stevron Frey grabs ahold of him and controls the situation. The Freys leave after this with parting words from Lothar Frey being very threatening to Robb Starke of whom they feel greatly insulted them.

Robb never discussed the Frey object left behind in his room to anyone outside of Obella of whom he only vaguely mentioned once when she asked about the Frey's.

“Beyond Childish were the Frey's. Did they honestly believe we would marry the heir of one of the most powerful men in the kingdom to a daughter leagues down the inheritence line of some foreign nation. Still hearing the limping Lothar Frey threaten my brother made my blood rise.”

— Jon Snow

The Frey's would return to their ships following the argument and despite attempts by many including a near marriage proposal created by Candice Anthor and Stevron Frey the other Freys were intimidated by Black Walder Frey and refused to listen to the heir of Frey in Stevron Frey. On the route back from Eastfall it is known that during the night everyone went to bed, and the next morning the boat had its anchors up, and many on board were dead including Stevron his wife, and the captain. Everyone believed that Black Walder had done it, but unable to prove it and unwilling to be next on the chopping block noone mentioned it, and the story returning to Frey was that the captain had gone insane and killed Stevron and his wife.

Trouble in Highport

“People are starting to ask questions my friend. Go in there. Sleep with a whore, and make them forget their questions.”

— Percival Lott

Alongside the other forces it would be Robin Highport that travels to Eastfall in order to take part in the celebrations for the new city alongside his friends. Shortly before they leave Fogtown his sister Lara Highport comes down with a sickness due to her pregnancy with their second child and thus stayed behind while Robin Highport left Fogtown by boat traveling to Eastfall. Arriving in Fogtown he finds his friends forcing him to go to the newest local brothel and after a confrontation with Percival Lott he is convinced that the only way to keep his relationship with Larra a secret is to follow their lead and thus he agrees to sleep with a whore at the brothel, and unknown to him the whore he is paired with is Vanessa Cleef of whom is in the process of being tricked by several noble girls into believing this will make her popular. Vanessa Cleef would travel to Anthor for the same reason as Robin, and accompanied by her family there was much thought to finding the fourteen year old Vanessa a future prospect for a husband, but in this regard she was extremely uncomfortable and was not looking forward to this. Entering the room where he believes he will sleep with a whore he finds Vanessa Cleef of whom convinced that she will popular if she sleeps with Robin decides to play the part as best she can, and so desperate for popularity is Vanessa that she is able to convince Robin that she is a whore at the brothel, and he eventually after having a connection with her sleeps with Vanessa.

Conversation IncomingLoneliness is a disease just like any other. The worst part of the disease is the cure isn;t always to be surrounded by those who love you. Many times the desease spreads despite the logical reasons why it would nothing vulnerable in the host. Loneliness is a disease. I know because I have it..

"What is your name?"

"Now is not about talking about me milord. Tell me what you want me to do for you." She ran her hand up my arm with a confidence that made me sad. She was maybe fifteen and here she was more experienced then she should be at thirty.

"I want to talk with you." There was a look that passed her eyes after I said it and then it disapeared leaving her confidant look to come back to the forefront.

"Shall I talk dirty to you milord?"

"Tell me your name."

"Vanessa."

"Tell me about how you came to be here."

"If I tell you about myself will you. Will you let me do what you paid me for?"

"That depends on your honesty."

"My mother died when I was four. My father liked the drink. When his love for the drink got more then we could afford he sold me here."

"That's terrible Vanessa."

"Life is terrible sometimes milord."

"What would make your life less terrible?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you dream of?"

"It might sound strange milord..."

"Robin."

"It might sound strange...Robin. But my dream is to be on a farm."

"A farm?"

"Do not laugh at me Robin."

"Milk of the Poppy must be used a lot here."

"That it is Robin."

"Do you...do the women here never contemplate having children with one of the noblemen that come through these doors."

"I would imagine it crosses their minds. I would imagine the embarrassment of being sacked from their job, and rejected by the father would outway any imaginations they had of that."

"Not all men would look at the birth of their child in such a way."

"What type of man are you Robin?"

Following this the two lay together and he promices that after he is done meeting with the people he has to at the cermonies he will return to the brothel and pay for her escape from this life and marry her to a nobelmen who will treat her right. The two talk for some time and it Robin finds himself for the first time feeling something for a girl that isn't Lara and realizes that perhaps there is hope for him outside of his relationship with Lara which he realizes cannot go anywhere real as she is his sister and thus will always be walled off to him. Kissing the girl on the forehead he leaves her once again with the promise to return and then leaving he brothel he returns to the the camp outside of Anthor where he meets up with his friends, who are actually shocked he went through with it, but no his honor is without question and believe him. Vanessa having been left to herself cleans herself up and goes downstairs where she tells the girls that she did but they all already know as they reveal they were watching through the wall of the brothel and embaressed she finds that they treat her better and they walk her back to her families lodgings in the city and all say goodbye with Vanessa feeling good for the first time she can remember.

Robin spends time with his uncle before he falls asleep in preparation for his role at the ceremony for the foundation of the city, and the dinner that will follow for the nobles. The ceremony comes and arriving at the town hall Robin enters the room where he and his party travel to their table, but he nearly falls over when he sees Vanessa seated at one of the tables, and it is with her locking eyes with him that he spits out his drink causing the entire room to look to him, but she flees the room as this happens. Despite the staring of all the nobles in the room which amounts to most of the most influential people in the entire Kingdom of Lucerne Robin remains seated in his chair and despite dying inside that he cannot chase after her he thinks of how important this event is and not wanting to let down the memory of his fallen sister and brother he raises his drink and makes a toast laughing off his spitting out the drink which causes nearly everyone to laugh with him. As the dinner progresses it is Vanessa that makes her way back into the room after her father found her and forced her back and returning to the room as the nobles all mingle she is found by Robin and she reveals who she really is and shocked at this he begins attempting to discuss marriage between the two but they are interrupted by the arrival of Vanessa's brother Vilhem Cleef who introduces his betrothed Sydra Skane and despite Vanessa nearly crying Vilhem is so excited that he takes over the remainder of Vanessa and Robin's time together which ends with the arrival of Vanessa's father Saiden Cleef of whom also does not realize Vanessa is overwhelmed and thus doesn't check in on her just takes her away leaving Robin's marriage offer hanging in the air unanswered. Following the end of the dinner Robin attempts to find Vanessa Cleef and finds Vilhem Cleef of whom tells him that Vanessa was sent away back to Goldshire after her father had been enraged at her embaressing moment of running out of the dining hall, and at this news Robin returns to his party and tells them that he will travel to Goldshire.

Meeting the Hearth Druids

“We are the Druids of the Hearth, and we come in peace.”

— Pen Ecrowi

The Truth Comes Out

“Your Grace. I have a letter here, that was given to me by a prominent member of the druids. You need to read this.”

— Elsa Hosk

William watches as Leven walks away from the tent and then lets Elsa into his tent where once inside she shows him the letter. Reading the letter it is written by an unknown writer but details how the Druids of the Hearth are corrupted by evil and mean to simply distract Lucerne so that there true plans can move forward.

Invasion of Westbridge

Invasion of WestbridgeThe Fall of Westbridge would shake the entire continent to its core.

“I understood that Karl was far more hawkish then I could have imagined. In my view the only way to deal with a hawk is to take out everything around it, and watch it flop around. Soon Karl was going to see that trying to intimate the Kingdom of Lucerne would be getting a lot harder to do.”

— William Lovie III.

The invasion of Westbridge was a plan that William finally finalized in his mind followed his meetings with Karl Franz through the Magi stones known as the Meeting of the Dragon and the Griphon. The meeting had started with a lot of promise but following the initial talks it became clear to both of them that they shared some serious ideological problems, and on top of that where William had believed there would be talk about the survival of Arnor when Arnor was brought up it was as if it was a forgone conclusion that Austria would take control of Arnor, and that wasn't acceptable for Lucerne. On one side of things he knew he had a sibling that was now queen of Arnor and thus he could not leave her survival to chance. On the second part he knew that if The Empire struck against Arnor and took it then the bottleneck they had for centuries would be gone, and they might spread south without resistance. When he looked at actually being able to intervene in Arnor and what that possibility might lead to his commanders and strategists would all suggest that would be foolhardy and would have little chance of success. What wouldn`t have a slight chance of success was if they could take Westbridge as a position to hold against the potential invasion of The Empire. In order to stop this William went about planning the invasion of Westbridge which he believed would create the defense position from which even with the fall of Arnor which he now believed was a certainty Lucerne could hold on against The Empire. In order to launch this main assault House Lovie would bring with them nearly all of their vassals including everything not part of western Lucerne of which would be remaining behind.

Many houses from the region would send nearly their entire force, and in this way this was a large gamble in many ways as the way of the Orcs coming through the pass would be only defended by the forces of House Greymane of whom were commanded to not send anything into the Invasion of Westbridge and would remain behind to defend the pass. The main army would also be supported by several smaller but still significant mercenary, and volunteer forces including a mercenary group in the form of the Tarried Men sent from the Yairns and led by Jaerenor Aerareon of which was kept completely in the dark but moved north with the force in what they were told was a rebellion in the Riverlands.

Making Camp

“It was the deciding day. All across the line we were breaking them, but one mistake and it would all crash down.”

— William Lovie III.

As the main land force moved northward into the Riverlands it was idea that directly before the two major towns of southern Westbridge that the main army would make one last major stop, and allow the fleet to be in position north of Kul Tiras, and allow House Scott, and House Shepard to marshal their forces to attack Westian, and Braedin. Arriving at Riverrun the main army would meet with significant forces from Lorderon led by William Lovie III's brother Jamie Portmane of whom would accompany the main army in its movement north. The Martells fought beside the main army as it moved towards the southern gateway of Westbridge, and as they camped out during the day in the forest Leven got the chance to see William Lovie again for the first time in a long time. During most of the day the men were resting so that they would be ready for the night attack, but William was constantly on the move visiting the different house leaders and finding out all the things that were going on with them. The visits with many of the Lords went smoothly but his arrival in the camp of House Scarlet really showed him a true side of his vassals. Entering their part of the camp he was met by their members of whom all spoke kindly, and inside the main tent they revealed how many men they had brought of which was far more then he had believed they would have been able to mount on such short notice. Saiden, and his brother Renault led the meeting as they promised that anything that was needed of House Scarlet and their vassals they would gladly do, and Nicoli Machievelli would tell William that he would stay behind and discuss more things with the Scarlets. Meeting after House Scarlet with House Swift of whom assembled in a long line upon the arrival of William Lovie III. and his entourage. William Swift, and his brother John Swift both stepped forward and led William and his force into the center of House Swifts forces where they met with the Swift vassals of whom Joshua, and Emile Hirsh also stood up and made themselves known to the King of Lucerne.

“Leven had always been there for me in a way that few people in this world would ever truly be there for you. She was beyond just someone I counted as a friend, and other then Jasper and Alice she was the be all for me. A person you shared everything with, and of whom never judged you was too much to ignore, and seeing her then made me realize how much I had ignored it.”

— William Lovie III.

One of his final meetings would come with House Martell of whom was one of the premier houses of House Lovie`s entourage and also Leven Martell a member of the Shadow Council was with the Martell forces. Leven Martell would be waiting all day for the arrival of her best friend, and their actual meeting took place when William came to the Martell part of the camp to meet with Doran Martell who he assumed would be leading the force, but when he arrived at the command tent to find the three Martell sisters looking over the battle plans and talking furiosly over the plans. When they finally noticed that he was their flanked to his right by Jasper Hale, and to his left by Draco Highmore they watched panicked for what his reaction would be to the realization that Doran wasn't leading the force but instead it was his three young daughters. Instead of anger he looked to his two friends and begin laughing before walking to the table and discussing with them the upcoming battle. As the group dispersed, Leven stepped forward towards William and she made a note of how quickly Jasper moved to shield the prince from what he must have deemed as a hostile gesture from Leven. Instead of hostility she wished to speak to him, and he was basically done for the day so he said that she could follow him to his tent and they could discuss old times.

“I wanted to have everything with him. He was supposed to be my future. It should have been me he marrid and fathered children with. I just couldn`t let go of that belief, it didn`t matter that he had married and had children with someone else I just couldn`t move past him.”

— Leven Martell

As she followed him back to his tent she had a moment to watch how much he had changed. Where once he had been wild and charismatic in a way that made you feel used but at the same time want to, he was now kinder, and his charisma was a gentle thing that seeped off him and instead of feeling like their was a nefarious reason behind the kind words now he seemed to truly care. She watched as he greeted everyone that he walked by, and when they finally reached his tent they moved through the numerous gaurds, and entered his inner room. Inside the room she wondered what would happen but she was suprised when he let out a sigh and slumped down on a chair. She laughed at the moment before joining him in the seat beside him, where she gave him a moment to relax before they begin talking. They laughed and joked and the feelings that Leven had for him returned just as strong as they had once been, and as the conversation got later she begin to plan to attempt to seduce him. This plan changed when they begin discussing his children, and when she heard him discuss them she realized just how far he had come. Despite the fact that she wanted him. Despite the fact that she was still in love with him, she knew that she couldn't do it. Even if she believed that she was capable of seducing him she didn't have the heart to do it to him considering everything he had become. So without that in mind she ended up falling asleep in his room with perhaps the first true friend she had ever had.

The Rise of LucerneI saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.

"Your Grace please follow me." I bowed my head at the young heir to House Swift, and followed beside Jasper as we filed behind John Swift. He led us through row after row of tents all emptied as seemingly all of the occupants had left their sleeping to take time staring at us as we walked by.

Of the vassals under my command I knew little of the Swift's and their vassals outside of the meetings I had with John during the time in Gondor. He had seemed honorable, and Nicoli had told me how he had been knighted alongside many of his vassals following the freeing of Tree Hill. I could tell we had reached our destination when the large tent colored in the

Standing kneeling before the largest tent stood two men in green armor. Two guardsmen stood to the right and left of the two men and their shields told me they were of House Hirsh. As we reached them the smaller of the two men stood from his bowing and bowed his head before me. "Your Grace it is beyond an honor to finally meet you."

Before I could speak in turn, William Swift stepped from the tent and made his presence known. "Yes it was a pity that House Hirsh outside of your brother Emile, and some of his men were absent from our king's great Journey."

"Our father felt that the great King of Lucerne would need our strength later." I watched as William went to speak again, but silenced him with a raise of my hand.

"My Lords please let us speak in private." The two shared a glare briefly before bowing once again and entering the tent. I would have to remember to speak to Nicoli about what sort of problems existed between House Hirsh, and House Swift, but for now I had one last meeting before I got to see Leven.

~

I walked with Jasper, and Jamie passed the orange tents of the Martell`s and had a tinge of excitement as I knew I`d see Leven. She was a truly great friend, and the fact that I hadn`t seen her for some time gave me pause as to why I seemed to always treat her that way. She was one of the Shadow Council, but in a lot of ways she was the forgotten member. Treated as an outsider without every really saying it out loud.

Jasper constantly questioned to me whether the feelings that she held for me were reciprocated, and it was never really something I had been forced to deal with. When we were young and sleeping together I had pushed it aside because I was angry and bitter, and she was one of the few that loved me to such a level that in the back of my mind I knew I could treat whatever way I wanted. I would never be able to apologize enough to her for what I did to her back then, but she had never asked for an apology which honestly just made it worse.

Shaking hands, and saying my hellos to the knights along the way I was stopped by the fat lord Mavin Vaith of whom was a good man, but my uncle had always joked he loved his pies and cakes far more then he did anything else. When I questioned how I could trust such a man Emmett had joked that I should simply send him cakes and pies as often as possible. Jasper would sacrifice the time of Emmett so that we could move past, and I could just make out the look of anger that he shot at Jasper who just laughed in return. Walking into the Martell`s main camp, I saw Leven, Dorea, and Obella on one side of the table, flanked by Wilheim, Mandon Moore, and Maryn Trant who were on the other side. As I got closer I saw a young boy that looked the spitting image of Maryn and despite never knowing him I assumed it was his heir in Ian Trant, and the boy despite his youth would immediately know to bow on my entrance. ``My Lords, how goes the planning.``

I shouldn`t have been suprised when Leven was the first to anwser. ``My King the Martell forces are well ready for anything asked of them.`` You would hardly know that we were best friends with the dutiful way she spoke, but I knew even if I told her not to she wouldn`t ever speak to me outside of privacy in anyway other then extreme class.

``My cousin is correct my King. The final elements of House Trant arrived just this morning bringing our entire force to bear. We are now completely ready for the assault.`` Wilheim would bow as well after speaking, and pointed towards the different elements on the papers they were looking at, showing how strong in number they were.

``Excellent. I must continue my rounds as I still have the Faraday`s and their most likely desire to see me hand the Highmore`s over as a good luck charm for the battle to deal with.``There was laughter in the tent, and it went that way for a good ten minutes longer until Emmett came into the tent with a less then happy look on his face telling us that we had to retire for the night. I bid the commanders get some rest before the night got to late, and gave Leven a nod of my head a brief smile before shaking each of their hands and kissing Dorea, and Obella`s hands and then moved out of the tent. As I walked following Jasper and Emmett who were by this point arguing about Jasper`s joke on Emmett I felt a hand on my back and went to see what Draco wanted, but when I turned and looked it was Leven smiling at me. ``Leven, its good to see you.``

``I`ve missed you too my King.`` I wanted to force her to call me Will like she did when we were in private, but I knew it was a lost cause so I just moved forward.

``I`m sorry I had to rush out like that I hadn`t meant...`` She smiled at me before raising her hand as if to say for me to stop. She had always been far too kind for me, and it was true shame and a boon to have a friend as pure as she was.

``Nothing to apologize for my king. I was just happy to see you. Its been...Its been a long time.``Her saying it brought me to the realization of how long it had truly been since I`d seen her. She had allowed her hair to grow out, and her orange tinted armor was a masterpiece that I know she took very seriously. When we were young there wasn't a moment that I was training that she wasn't nearby. There wasn't a time that I was bettering myself that she wasn't right beside me making herself better too.

"It's been too long." I meant it more then I could put into words. The problems with Edward had left me understanding how fragile relationships were. I wanted to make sure that Leven perhaps my greatest and most loyal friend didn't become an Edward so I acted. "Leven are you available?" Her eyes lit up clearly realizing or at least hoping I was going to ask her to join us.

"If you have need of me your grace I am available."

"Then follow us we have some Faraday, Highmore feuds to hear about." She laughed before looking around and making sure noone had seen before smiling back at me. "Come on milady lets go."

We walked through the paths leading to the Faradays and reaching the edge of their part of the camp we were met by Daniel Faraday of whom shook hands briefly with Dylan Steinmare before leading us towards their main tent.

It felt like hours listening to the Faraday's go on and on about how monstrous the Highmore's were, but it probably wasn't even fifteen minutes. Finally when I saw even Jasper beginning to look upset about the way they spoke of Freddie I told Daniel that we needed to leave, but there support was of vital importance. When Daniel Faraday seemed to get upset at my abrupt departure I looked to Jamie of whom nodded back to me and spoke to the Faraday's that the King needed rest but he would remain and discuss further issues. Daniel smiled faintly, but while once I might have called Daniel the sane member of House Faraday now I saw that same glint of madness as I shook his hand before walking from the tent.

The night was final at an end with the Faraday's being the final house we had to visit, and thus as a group we walked back towards the Dragon's Tent as they were beginning to call it apparently around camp. Jasper led the way surrounded on his flanks by Dylan Steinmare, and Ser Hayden Percy. Looking to my left I saw Edward and further left of him some six guards of whom only Seth Green and his House Green guard did I actually recognize.

To my right stood Elia Snow, and Leven of whom I knew to be great friends, but walking me back to my tent I would have thought they never knew each-other by the way there steel locked eyes kept their gaze constantly moving. Emmett held the rear with Marcel making some joke to him causing the big brute to laugh quickly before a look from Jasper stopped him.

When we reached the tent Jasper spoke first."Well, my King I shall go now and speak with the Arryn's. You need to get some rest now." He said the rest bit with a small smile and I knew that was as close to a joke as he could get while in his official role.

"And what of your rest Jasper? When pray tell me will you take your rest?"

"Not tonight my King." He bowed his head and grabbed Emmett by the arm before walking off with Marcel in tow as well as a few guardsmen. Edward looked at me with a look that told me he was uncomfortable, and I wanted to say something to him to make it better, but in that moment there was just nothing to say.

After it was clear to him I wasn't going to speak he bowed his head and went off to the Cullen part of the camp and causing me to be filled with a great feeling of disappointment that I had allowed one of my best friends to walk away like that. Before I could think anymore about my failings I felt Leven's hand on my shoulder and turning to her I saw a smile that would have made me follow her anywhere.

I didn't wait for her just moved in front pulling her gently by the hand within the tent. The moment I closed the tent door behind her I heard her laugh causing me to turn back towards her.

"How many different ways can such a small group describe how they hate something." She was laughing as she said it, and her laughter and beautiful smile forced me out of my contemplation and into a laugh. "William, I have no idea how you were able to just stand there and listen to that. Desmond spent five minutes describing how he felt Draco's armor was an insult to your house. I wanted to stab him in the chest." She laid her sword down as I unclasped my shoulder armor and rested it on its hanger. My gloves came off with some difficulty and I had to remember to have the armorer look at them before I went into battle.

"Please don't do that Leven. If you do then I'll have to hear about the orange armor of murderous Leven Martell and how I should send you into the mountains to live on goats." The Faraday's were embarrassing themselves, and I don't know whether they cared enough anymore to change it. Perhaps there hatred over the death of Joey Faraday was so strong now, that nothing could stop it until one side was dead. It seemed to me that death was the only way out of this mess, but when the Faraday's wanted the death of an individual that was months away from being a member of my own house they seemed the only candidates to die.

"What fools the Faraday's are." She pulled off her final piece of chest armor and rested it on the ground revealing a light shirt that left barely anything to the imagination. It was difficult not to look at her sexually, as she was a walking temptation. We had spent more times intimately together then I could count so it didn't take much to imagine what I could do to her. A girl who loved me as deeply as Leven did, and of whom looked like that was nearly a sin to not touch, but I had committed far too many sins of late to add one more so easily.

"I'v truly missed you Levia." She stopped taking her armor off for a moment and looked at me with a smile so wide it didn't seem possible.

"I've missed being called Levia." She left her lower armor on and moved to sit beside me on the bed, and again the temptress tempted me.

"Your sisters call you Levia."

"Obella has been away with Robb in Stormwind, and Dorea has been in the north visiting High Hrothgar." She said it with such sadness, and lonliness that I knew in that moment how much hurt I had caused her. I hadn't meant to send her away for so long, but she was honestly the only one other then Jasper that I could truly count on.

"I'm sorry I sent you away I just...Its just you guys are my only sure things." I wondered if I still counted Edward amongst that number. Was my bitterness towards him ever going to go away.

"Why not Emmett, or Edward then. I don't mean to be rude but I missed you. Your my best friend, and I felt like you just sent me away like I was nothing." A tear fell down her cheek, and I wiped it with my hand and as she fell into my hand I caressed her cheek.

"I am truly sorry Leven. I have taken you more then any other person in my life for granted. I love you, and I guess I thought in my mind that you and I were just...just so close that I could take advantage of you. Does that make sence." It was the truth, and if there was one thing I wanted to remain it was our honesty. I never wanted to skirt around eachother the way we all did now with Edward. It was a fate for us worth then the ending of our friendship.

"It does, but please don't anymore. We are better off close to eachother. I don't mind leaving every once and awhile, but that was a long time."

"Never again, unless the world is ending and its the only way to live." She laughed and rested her head on my shoulder. "Lets pray it never comes to that Levia."

I was awoken by a sound at the tent entrance, and looking out I saw Jamie moving to his bed on the other side of the tent. You could tell he was trying to be quiet but his armor just didn't allow it. Luckily for him Leven was not startled and stayed fast asleep against my shoulder, and looking down at her I couldn't help but think about what Brooke would think if she saw me with Leven like this. At the same time it said something that my first thought went to Brooke and not my own wife Bella though.

"No need to sneak around brother" I whispered it trying to make sure Leven stayed asleep.

"'I never was very good at sneaking around Will." He moved closer to me sitting down at Jasper's bed which was as close to mine as you could get. Once he had sat down I saw his eyes and I could almost feel his pain from the four feet that separated us.

"What's troubling you Jamie?"

"Do you remember the girl I told you about when we first met."

"Tamsin if I remember correctly."

"She remains on my mind."

"They never leave us Jamie. These great loves of our loves they just claw at our minds when they aren't around. These great loves are the one thing that time cannot heal."

"Who is yours brother?"

"An excellent question, and perhaps one day I will know the answer to that."

The two falling asleep together was noticed by Jasper Hale of whom was sleeping in the same tent as William as his main bodyguard and while Jasper never discussed seeing this he noted it for himself. While William and Leven went inside the tent to get ready for bed Jasper knew he had one last visit to make in the form of House Arryn. During this he was accompanied by Emmett who believed that he could make the situation less uncomfortable and actually get something done. Arriving in the Arryn part of the giant camp he discovered that Bryan Arryan hadn`t made the trip and had sent Paul Arryn in his stead. Knowing Paul was a skilled fighter he discussed with them what would cause Bryan to not come for such an important event and heard for the first time about how weak willed Bryan was beyond what he already knew about.

“Sometimes you looked at Byron Arryn and just thought...this man is far too pathetic to be real.”

— Jasper Hale

Leaving the Arryn tent he visited House Krinner, and Dorin of whom he would count upon to take up a significant portion of the attack, as House Arryn would be launching against the keep to the west of the main gatehouse. While the main force attacked the gate castle, the forces of House Arryn would attack the small port/town of Vlasnia that harbored to the west of the gatehouse. A relatively heavily defended section of Westbridge this was of supreme importance that this be taken quickly by House Arryn otherwise the heavy artillery that was in place inside the port. Because of the damage taken by House Arryn's leadership caste it was the decision of Byron Arryn that he not lead the force and thus House Arryn and its vassals were being led into battle by Martin, and Paul Arryn, as well as his son Derek, and his niece Spencer Arryn of whome was known to be there by Martin but most others thought she was a mercenary hired by the Arryns to offset their losses. Jasper would spend much of the night discussing the plans for the next day with the Arryns and he would find a surprising intelligence in Derek Arryn, and he would make a note in his memory to make sure that William knew of this mans potential. When this was over he and Emmett would leave the command tent of House Arryn and return to their respective Houses where they would be leading their respective attacks. For Jasper that meant he would be fighting alongside his best friend William Lovie as a member of the Praetorian Gaurd, while Emmett would be truly bringing the growing forces of House McCarty to the forefront with his assistence.

The Beginning is the End

“If there has ever been a more coordinated assault in the history of man, I`ve never heard of it.”

— Wilheim Martell

While the Invasion of Westbridge was split into many different sections with the forces of House Scott, and House Shephard attacking the two major towns south of Westbridge in Westian, and Braedin. While they did this House Lannister, and House Starke prepared to invade the main island by use of the Lucernian fleet in the dark of night, of which their attack would corespond with the attack of the main force on the south gate, and the Order of the Blue Dragon on the northern Gate. With all this in wait House Swan would invade Yerness which would block any relief from coming south from the Westbridge forces north of the town, as well as stopping Voldermorte from coming south by boat. While this happened House Lovie moved north towards the Westbridge town of Margrove which had before the battle had started been assumed to be a minor town controlled by the wealthy House Pollen but relatively undefended. Rebels in the area though would discover differently and thus information flooded into the high command that Margrove had been fortified by House Pollen and it would now be a major obstacle for the movement northwards. The High Council got together and discussed their options briefly, and William knew that he didn't have time to besiege the city so after Saiden Scarlet volunteered he left behind House Scarlet and gave them the charge of taking Margrove and then holding the town until the Invasion was over. The vast army would then surround the completely unprepared city, and once the defenders knew how many were around them they hunkered down for a siege and waited for reinforcements. Only a few hours after surrounding the city and under cover of darkness House Lovie and the majority of the force would depart and leave House Scarlet, Mien, and House Fraizen, alongside a force of Riverlanders led by Amory Justman and House Justman, and House Keath alongside House Keath's vassals in charge of continuing the siege. All of this coordination which would have been near impossible before the coming of the Magi for Lucerne was all made possible through the heavy use of the Magi Stones of Lucerne of which allowed the different sections of the army to communicate with the main army and this made sure that everyone attacked at the same time and thus the element of surprise was at its most extreme.

Final Moments

“I had this feeling of calmness that washed over me that final day. It was a feeling I had not felt the entire time we were planning, and moving...it was the calm before the storm.”

— William Lovie III.

During the next day their was an almost awkward silence that fell over the massive army, and nearly the entire command structure of the attacking force as everyone understood that night would signal the attack they had all been preparing for and obsessing over for the past week. During the day House Arryn would silently march its way out of the main camp alongside House Heard, House Krinner, and House Dorin where the would prepare for their invasion of Vlasnia the town located just west of Westbridge's main port. With their departure William Lovie begin to create a buzz as he once again spent the afternoon visiting as many of his troops and commanders as he could, and it was during the final few hours that he would order the beginning of the attack. When dusk hit he ordered that House Martell led by Wilheim Martell would move forward and hidden in the forest they would move to the east of the fortress and prepare to board the boats they had made for the purpose of their attack behind the lines. As the Martells left William Lovie would be prepared to say one last goodbye to his friend Leven Martell, but when he finally found her he heard her talking to Emmett about how excited she was to be so close to the Shadow Council again and he would change his mind keeping her with his personal guard. House Lovie, House Skane, and House Faraday alongside the Order of the Red Dragon, and the tens of thousands of men of the Lovie vassals would form the main attack along the castle while the forces of House Jackson, House Cullen, and House Vaith would attack along the flanks of the castle using heavy artillery to shield their troops who would mainly be using ladders to assail the walls. Alongside this attack would be of course the House Martell attack which would be assisted as well by the Order of the Violet Dragon who had been busy at work infiltrating the southern gatehouse keep with rebel troops, as well as murdering watch commanders so that the walls would be sparsely defended giving the attackers the most time possible to get on the walls.

“The fear of Lord Volermorte arriving was palpable across the entire force. Everyone of us had been told that this man may be no longer mortal, as his power made him nearly a god.”

— Edward Cullen

As the armies of Lucerne massed in the valley the Order of the Violet Dragon moved northward in their entire strength and silently over the course of a few days infiltrated the city of Westbridge. The Order already had sympathizers in the city as House Malfoy was extremely unpopular in Westbridge and as such it wasn't hard to find people that were loyal. With roughly a month before the army of Lucerne was to arrive the forces of the Order of the Violet Dragon went about changing schedules for the defenders so as to weaken sections of the wall. Those who it was planned to survive the conflict were basically given vacations on the day of the conflict so that they would not be caught up in the conflict and all those who were not were either killed if possible or allowed to go about their normal routine and thus die in the attack. As well as this they begin setting up a rather sophisticated, and well equipped rebel army that on the day of the invasion would be completely focused on taking control of the southern gate. This rebel force was made up of the forces in the villages and towns of northern Westbridge, and led by Ser Polliver Grouillin of whom had watched his household lose all influence and led the forces south of Westbridge in betraying their neglectful overlords in House Malfoy.

“When the stone begin to glow I ran inside the nearest building followed closely behind by Benjamin, and Dama. We went into the basement before I finally let myself feel the stone with my bare hands. Watching the vision of the king spread from the stone was a sight I never stopped being in awe about. As I waited for him to tell me the time was night I could barely control the tingles along my arm. This was the moment all our planning finally came to fruition.”

— Ezio Ederiz

Inside the city Ezio Ederiz stands with a large grouping of Order of the Violet Dragon in an abandoned house where they await word from the Magi stone telling them that William is ready for the true chaos to begin. After hours of waiting past when they thought it would be Ezio, Benjamin Bradfoot and Dama plan to go into the street and make sure there are no increased preparations from the defenders, and while in the street the stone activates and they are forced to answer it inside a merchants store that is luckily closed for the night.

The Attack

The Griffin Assault would bring about the fall of the already weakened tower, and keep defences of the southern gatehouse.

“All the planning, all the effort we had done, and it all came down to this moment. Either we beat them, or they beat us. It was that simple.”

— William Lovie III.

The moment that dusk settled on the skies above the army William Lovie gave the order to begin moving to attacking positions, and then quickly had his messengers alert the other sections of the attack by Magi Stone's that the attack was now moving forward. The siege machines were pushed forward in case the siege didn't work according to plan and they were forced to bash their way through while at the same time the hundreds of ladders, and dozens of siege towers were silently pushed forward as well by dozens of oxen. The siege towers were the main thing that might be noticed and thus they were covered with trees and it was hoped that the darkness and the lack of real defenders on the walls would allow the towers to get nearly to the walls before noticed. As the army pushed forward it was the Griffins of House Griffon and the Order of the Red Dragon that first hit the defenders as hundreds of Griffin Riders landed in the towers and within the keep of the southern gate and made a mess of the defenders. Led by Tristifer Griffon the forces of House Griffon would cause near complete collapse of the defenders on the wall, and as the attackers reached the walls and climbed through the siege towers there was only a few that actually fell to the defenders as they had been devastated. By the time William Lovie III., and the other members of the main force had reached the gate Clarke Greymane, and Garrett Elbertson had placed the flag of Lucerne on the largest tower, and the front gate was being opened by other Griffin Riders.

“It was the first time we had truly used the Griffins in this role, and they provided more then I think even we thought they could. I worried they would be shot out of the sky, but they were able to move quick enough and come from a high enough angle that the enemy was blind to them until it was too late.”

— Tristifor Griffon

Tristifer Griffon and his Griffon Riders had broken the defenders and opened the gates allowing the massive force inside the walls, and they proceeded to mop up the remaining defenders of the southern gatehouse. Leaving the southern gatehouse and making their way towards the bridge spanning the mainland to the real city of Westbridge William would stop the army momentarily and await the flags of the rebels to go up on the other side of the bridge. When the flags didn't go up initially there was fear it had failed for the rebels, but a few minutes later the flags went up and the entire main force begin moving across the bridge spilling into the main island.

“I looked forward and ”

— Tristifer Griffon

The defenses were by this point collapsing all across the line, and they were greeted by the sights of the rebels holding hundreds prisoner all across the main island. During their movement though William and his center would come under assault from a fanatical group of Deatheaters of whom came directly for the king hoping to kill him. The many lords and knights around him fought at his side as they fought against this final counter assault, and one by one the Deatheaters fell dead as their Magi was muted by the defenses on the runic armor of William, and the several Magi around him. William would as they pushed forward make his way with most of the main army towards the holdings of House Labeouf where they would make sure they were safe, but he sent Joshua Jackson, and the forces of House Skane, and their vassals towards the final holding of Lucius Malfoy of whom they wanted to capture but if he died it would also be fine.

Death of Lucius Malfoy

“The town was burning around me, and it seemed hopeless to believe we could survive after the arrival of Severus, and the members of Hogwarts from within our ranks. Nothing to do but wait. Nothing to do but wait and hope my family surivived.”

— Lucius Malfoy

With the fall of the final gatehouse into the main city, and the quickly debarking marines from House Starke, and House Lannister the forces remaining under the command of Lucius Malfoy waited for his command, and he ordered them to retreat to the Malfoy Keep for what everyone believed was a last stand. At this moment more then half the remaining men under his command would under the command of Peter Arnault who had joined the forces of the Order of the Violet Dragon days before, would lay their swords down instead of follow what Lucius wanted to do which was a last stand. Peter Arnault realizing in this moment that Lucius was not a terrible man, just a man who was under the leadership of a monster would offer Lucius a chance at survival but quickly discovered from Lucius's response that he no longer wished to live anymore. So without the majority of his forces and unwilling to spill anymore of his own people's blood Lucius traveled over the bridge with less then thirty men left and ordered the men to prepare for the final attack. He was reported to by a messenger that the Hall of the Deatheaters had just fallen, thus meaning their final means of escaping the city was gone as the forces of Hogwarts alongside the Order of the Blue Dragon had teleported directly inside the building after the wards had been destroyed by traitors within the Malfoy forces. With the means of escape gone, and not fearing a return of his brother he knew that the city had fallen to the forces of Lucerne and in this Lucius saw this as his chance to finally die. As his remaining men prepared to die in the last stand, he knew he had to make sure that his son Lucius wasn't going to make the same mistakes that he did. Returning across the bridge with his men Lucius first went to his youngest son in Draco Malfoy, and the only one left in his family who he felt had any morals left and told him the following.

Lucius had finally come to the end of resistence and understood it was all over for him.

“You must listen to me son. What has happened here was for the best. We are morally bankrupt, and the pain we've caused must be paid for, and I plan on making the first deposit. No matter what happens son never allow vengeance to consume you or else you will make the mistake my brother made. I love you son. I love you son. Be better then we were.”

— Lucius Malfoy

Following this he took out his sword and walked to the center of the bridge connecting the main island to the palace, and stood waiting for the forces of Lucerne to come. His men waited around him horrified but still remaining loyal to the end, and in that moment he ordered them to lay their swords down, and return to stand with his family. After a few minutes Joshua Jackson arrived on the bridge with his men, and told Lucius to stand down and accept the surrender of the city. Lucius just laughed at them and said that his time was over, and if they had any compassion they would end him. Joshua knew something about compassion for the weak, and he ordered his men to stand down while he engaged Lucius in a duel, of which both knew how the duel would end. By this point Draco had escaped the grasp of his mother of whom had been holding him back and Draco would watch from the tower overlooking the bridge as the two fought and as Draco watched on Lucius was killed by Joshua Jackson, and then released gently into the river.

“You just never think your hero is going to die. You always assume after reading books, and hearing stories that the hero lives. Either everything I'd ever read, or heard was a lie or my father wasn't the hero. And if he wasn't the hero that means he was the villian. And if he was the villian what does that make me?”

— Draco Malfoy

Joshua would lead his men across the bridge and find the remaining members of House Malfoy and their vassal aristocrats lying on the ground with their swords thrown away. Seeing this he ordered his men to take them into captivity until they knew what to do with them. As the House Jackson men moved to do this, Draco finally came to the conclusion that would change everything. Draco would rise from the rest of the surrendered troops and stand up, and seeing this his mother would yell at him to lay down, and think about his wife who was in another part of the city, but he had to escape and so he ran from the group and climbed to the top of the House Malfoy keep. Chased by the men of House Jackson, and the now arriving House Lovie forces, and the shouting of his mother he would jump from the ramparts into the water nearly thirty feet down barely missing the rocks. Hitting the water he stayed under as long as he possibly could before hiding under the outcropping of rocks so that none could see him. The Jackson men believed he was dead, and thus he managed to escape but left behind much of his family and his wife and young son.

“My King we have control of the city. Its truly happened Will, you took Westbridge.”

— Leven Martell

With the death of Lucius, and the the capture of the remaining resistance within the final Malfoy keep the city of Westbridge was well and truly fallen into the hands of Lucerne. Following this news and dealing with the Meghanna issue William would meet with the commanders of the attack at the center of town, and already news had filtered in about the fall of Yerness, and the numerous towns south of Wesbridge having fallen as well. Realizing he had a true victory William would command to have the Labeoufs, along with House Arnault, and House Hartrian brought to the center of the town where he would have a meeting with them in order to tell them of the direction he saw the city now moving towards and to make sure they knew they had nothing to fear from him the way they must have feared the Malfoy's.

The New Order

“It is the very things that made me keep this invasion secret from you that are the reasons I wish for you to lead this city. Lord Labeouf your family is known for their loyalty, and I know you are aware of what morality exists within me. I do not come here as a craven. I come here to defend my people, and in the process you can make this city something truly special.”

— William Lovie III.

The meeting of the leadership of the Lucernian attack, and the remaining nobility of Westbridge would happen in the Palace grounds of Westbridge outside in a large amphitheater where William could speak openly to the entire leadership of Westbridge. While this population of the town was brought forward, and from there he named House Labeouf the new Arch Lords of the Grand State of Westbridge, while Harry Labeouf would stand as the Arch Lord. Promicing to assist in rebuilding the city, the people would cheer as the Malfoy`s and their madness was pushed out and the new Lucerne-Labouef union began.

Demons on the Loose

Demons on the LooseArthas was the source of so much evil, and we had just allowed him to walk around in front of us.

“It was beyond anything I could have imagined. This man was the Arch Lord of a grand state within the Kingdom of Lucerne. There was only one man in the kingdom who held more power then an Arch Lord, and that was the one man I knew would believe me when I told him about this letter.”

— Edward Cullen

Gemma Cullen would be in a meeting for Order of the Blue Dragon alongside her cousin Edward Cullen when she was told that a letter had arrived at the Tower labeled for her. She would remain for the meeting and not immediately get the letter but following the meeting with the Order of the Blue Dragon she had received a letter from a Magi from the Kirin Tor that she had met long before named Medivh and had wished to known if she had an audience with the King. He asked her that if she did have an audience with the king that she needed to use that right away to give him word of something terrible happening in Lorderon. When Gemma responded questioning why Medivh wanted to speak with the King, and what terrible thing this was that was happening in Lorderon he would respond with the truth. He told Gemma in the letter that Arthas had lost his mind, and was forming a chaos cult of which was growing more powerful each day within the walls of Lorderon, and that unless he was stopped he was going to destroy the entire state.

The Rise of LucerneI saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.

Lady Gemma Cullen,

I am sorry about the rushed nature of my last letter, but the news was not good, and you and your cousin were the only people I knew well enough in Lucerne that were close enough to the king to effect any kind of real change. I am sorry for the history lesson, but you must understood all of this if you are to believe me.

Arthas Menathil was born, and from that moment forward he was destined to be the king of Lorderon. The people cheered his every move for he was noble, and just in all things that he did. Then like the wind flowing through everything disapeared in him. Where once there was nobility there was now only darkness. His parents would send for a paladin in the north to train him, and we all thought the paladin had been succesful. He wasn`t the same true knight as he was before, but he wasn`t the same violent monster he was before either. I returned to my studies believing all was well, but I have learned it was all a lie.

You must understand that men have lost their lives to bring me this information, and now he is chasing me as well. I am not some traitor to the cause of the Menathil`s. I do not wish for gold, or power. I have learned that since he handed over Lorderon to Lucerne he has formed a chaos cult, and is planning to destroy the state in a bloodbath. I do not yet know his end game, but whatever it may be you need to understand only one main thing. It will not be positive.

My former prince wants the world to burn in the same manner as he burns. He hates all things now and he wants it all to disapear. I cannot stop him alone, and as I said you and your cousin are the only ones I know close to the king. Use what influence you have and speak to the king. If failing this go to your cousin. I warned him years ago of this, and I only hope he is the same person he was when we last spoke.

Take a leap with me Gemma Cullen and we can save the world together.

Medivh, Counciller of the Six for the honorable Kirin Tor

Gemma was moved by the letter but she knew that she had no business speaking to the King of Lucerne even if she had been rather friendly with him during their youth. She knew that this couldn't be left unsaid so she responded to Medivh that she couldn't help him but if he talked to Edward Cullen her cousin then he would be able to tell the King himself. She would go to find Edward, and when she did she showed him the letters, and when he saw who they were from he too believed their content. Knowing they were in a very tricky situation Edward would leave immediately with Gemma for the capital where he would attempt with all that remained of his clout with William to do something about this situation.

“Taylor Swift was the perfect cover for me and what I had to do. Noone believed that she would be someone that would become central in the discovery of what Arthas was. Had I been quicker. Had I listed the first time I was told and not worried about the consequences, it is impossible to imagine how many that are dead might live.”

— Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen following the meeting with Medivh would go to Lucerne to meet with William but when he arrived he discovered that William had traveled up the mountain to meet with the dragons. Most believed they had seen him for the last time based on the tears flowing from both Alice and Emma, and so he made the decision that he couldn't sit idle while his friend risked everything to save the people of Lucerne. He would travel alongside his wife Tanya to Hilary's home and while there they came up with the plan of going to Lorderon under the pretend mission of growth of Dragonoph while in fact investigate the supposed chaos worship of Arthas Menathil. During this time his relationship with Tanya is collapsing, and she shows him little to no affection of which he responds to Gemma he isn't surprised about. Meeting as well with Alice Lovie, and Emma Bell they would make the suggestion that Taylor Swift be the one they use as the center of plan, as she was known far and wide for her Dragonoph beliefs and would be more accepted then the very influential Edward Cullen. Alice would later in a discussion with William admit that she was trying to distance Taylor from the romantic drama she was beginning to have with Emile Hirsh in Brill, but she didn't want them to know that was a major reason for her being sent. Also realizing they needed more Dragonoph involvement they went to Erica Steinmare of whom Edward knew of from school, and they got her to lead a contingent from House Steinmare to Brill where they would then move to the Port of Stormwind on their final stop before they went to Lorderon. Erica Steinmare agreed to go, but her brother forced himself into going as her brother hated Edward as he was a close friend of Jaspers and he also took his wife with him of whom had always wanted to see Lorderon and the massive Rhine. Alongside this would also be Emma Bell who would travel with Edward to give their Dragonoph mission further credence as she was a member of the royal family as the cousin of William Lovie III. and joining Emma would be a force of some thirty House Bell guards, and her husband Fredrik Highmore.

“We had to make it look convinsing. If we went there and it looked like we were there for the real reason we were there then who knew what these cultists would do. I wanted to save lives, I didn't want to be the direct cause of the deaths of thousands.”

— Edward Cullen

Taylor Swift would make her first appearance in Westros when Edward Cullen, and the group would arrive in Brill and when they did they would immediately travel to the Brill Keep where they met with Timone Swift, and John Swift and they would explain to the two that they needed Taylor for an important mission and this would be agreed to and then they were told that Taylor was at the Temple of Brill praying. It would be while praying in the High Temple of Brill when she would be approached from behind and was shocked to find those who had joined her in prayer were none other then Emma Bell a member of the royal family, as well as Dylan Steinmare and Edward Cullen two man who she had never met before but she knew to be extremely promient members of the kingdom. Continuing to pray now joined by this group her mind would be overcome by questions of what could have brought such a group to her temple, and after fifteen minutes of prayer she finishes and at her ending she and the group finally speak. Emma tells Taylor that she is being tasked with leading a Dragonoph contingent to Lorderon where they will be attempting to make further inroads into converting the new state to the Dragonoph, and when she questions why her they are reluctant to give her a straight answer instead Emma hands her a letter directed to her signed by Alice Lovie who is the acting regent of the Kingdom of Lucerne while William is away.

It would be as this was happening that Anna Kendrick would be watching through the window of the temple as Taylor speaks to the group, and she is disgusted that Taylor is being given such an opportunity while she is once again passed over for Taylor. As she continues to watch she is discovered by Freddie Highmore of whom she talks with for some time, and eventually is able to convince Freddie to put in a word for her to travel with them to Lordeorn. Following this discussion Anna would return to the Freddie Highmore does put in a word for Anna but this overruled by Emma who was aware of the situation between Taylor and Anna and did not want the trouble of those two being together. Following this conversation with Freddie she returns to the Kendrick estates where she convinces her brother Tyson Kendrick to travel with her to Lorderon where she uses his desire to regain his honor following his failure at the Nortburg tournament during the events of the Journey, and with this hope he jumps at the opportunity. Following this she returns to the keep and finds Freddie Highmore of whom apologizes to her telling her that she cannot come as Emma had indicated the group was full but clearly there was more to it and Anna takes this as Taylor interfering and thus decides to go around Emma Bell to Dylan Steinmare of whom she had known during her time at the academy. Finding Dylan spending time with his wife she feels sadness at how happy they look and longs to see Orival again which shocks her that she doesn't think of Josh Hirsh for even a second when she sees there happiness. Speaking to Dylan she is able to trick him into taking her with them offering her families forces in assistance against Edward if the chance arises, and he agrees to not tell Emma about this as the two conspire that they will keep it a secret until it is too late for her to go back, and Anna promises to Dylan that she will support Dylan if the opportunity to kill Edward Cullen arises.

Having manipulated her way into going she goes back to her families estate with no plans to tell Josh Hirsh of her departure but when she returns home she is told by her sister Melinda Kendrick that Emile Hirsh has been banned from going due to what everyone knows to be the affair happening between him and Emile, and thus attempting to get back at Taylor and cause problems she travels to the Hirsh estates. Arriving at her home she meets with her husband who she realizes she hasn't seen in almost three months and tells him that he will need to accompany her and lies to him that this was a command from Emma Bell, and wanting to be loyal he adheres to what he thinks is a royal command. Wanting to sow further chaos she also tricks them into believing that Josh is also to come despite him also not being one of those who was too come. Thus having created what she believes is a great embarrassment for Taylor she returns to the House Kendrick estates and prepares her things for the journey to come. Following this they would travel to Lole where they would take a boat all the way east to the Port of Stormwind in order to make the final part of their trip to Lordeorn. When they did arrive in Lole they discovered Tanya Cullen awaiting them in the city, and she refused to be left behind, and while this should have been a happy moment for the married couple instead they just argued along the way from Lole to the Port of Stormwind as there marriage had clearly fallen apart. While in the Port of Stormwind Edward would be joined by Candice Anthor of whom would say that she had been planning a trip to Lorderon in order to arrange a series of trade deals, and this would be the perfect opportunity. Convinced by Hilary, and Gemma that the more people they brought with them with civilian purposes the more real this whole thing looked he would agree to have her come, and Candice brought with her a large contingent of troops on six ships from the Port of Stormwind.

On the Path of a Demon

“Reaching the top of the tower wasn't was I expected. I thought I would meet some chaos worshipper and we would find the truth I wanted about Arthas. Instead I only found my own weakeness. Instead I was forced to deal with the failings in my self.”

— Edward Cullen

Edward, Taylor, Hilary, Tanya and a small entourage of troops from House Swift, House Steinmare, House Kendrick, House Hirshe, and House Cullen would join the six strong fleet of Candice Anthor and her large force as they traveled to Lorderon and after making the trip from the Port of Stormwind, and Edward would set Tanya to the task of making Taylor believe that she was actually there for the purpose they told her she was. Tanya was by this point nearly constantly fighting with Edward, and Edward knew that barking orders at her was only going to make it worse, but a part of him knew the marriage was over and really just wanted to save lives. While Taylor and Tanya visited several Dragon Temples that were under construction in Lorderon, it was Edward and Hilary that visited the Kirin Tor. When they arrived they were met by Medivh and several of his loyalists and they went about the conversation of how to prove Arthas's madness. Medivh told Edward that in his investigation he had discovered the existence of a group calling themselves the Sons of Lorderon of whom were being portrayed to the public as a revolutionary group wanting independence for Lorderon, but under the surface he discovered that in fact they were a chaos cult founded by Arthas. Edward needed more proof and so Medivh took him and Hilary to a small Kirin Tor Magi tower south of Lorderon where he kept one of the cultists captive.

“It wasn't until I saw the devotion that the Steinmare's had for the Dragon that I knew I had to tell them the truth. Dylan was irate. Erica was just as angry. Laera though was confused as to why they been lied too. I didn't blame them for any of those feelings though.”

— Taylor Swift

Taylor, Tanya, Anna, Josh, Emile and the Steinmare's would travel throughout the capital visiting the different Dragon Temples on their first day, and during this time Taylor and Emile would sleep together nearly the first moment they had alone, and Anna was nearby and she confronted them on it, and neither would even apologize and she would leave shortly after with Josh in tow. With those two gone they were met by the Steinmare's of whom Taylor watched look with amazement at the newly constructed Temple, and in that moment being held by Emile she knew she had to tell them the truth, and she would reveal to them the true purpose of the trip to Lorderon. Dylan would leave to go find Candice Anthor in order to warn her, and the rest of them would decide they would make the best of it, and expand the Dragonoph as much as possible. Taylor Swift would reveal to Erica Steinmare that she wasn't going to continue with the marriage to Josh Hirsh and planned to marry Emile while the two were here in Lorderon, and Erica gave the two space and left to go and find her brother in the port. Anna would get into an argument with Josh and went off her own finding herself in the Lorderon market where followed by Emma Bell she and Emma who had for so long fought to keep Anna out of this whole trip found Anna crying and finally saw the real person beneath the rumors. The two would discuss openly the situation and for the first time Emma heard about the lies that Anna believed in regards to Taylor and revealed the truth to Anna of whom would be horrified to know what the truth was and how horrible she had been to Taylor over what now amounted to nothing more then her mothers manipulations. Emma would tell Anna that she was heading north to Westbridge and knew that Orival Crane was there if Anna wanted to go with her, but Anna would politely refuse saying now that she knew the truth she had to make things right with Taylor and once she had done that she would end things with Josh and go north to find Orival.

“If you had told me the truth back then, I would have done so many things differently once I was here. I felt like I was being watched this entire time, but I ignored that because you told me everything was on the up. You lied to me Edward Cullen, and I won't forget that. Don't count on my support again.”

— Candice Anthor to Edward Cullen

While the main group was looking into the cultists or working to expand the Dragonoph influence in the Lorderon capital Candice Anthor was working at her trade agreement in the port itself. When she begin making her deals and talks with the leading houses in the port she begin to feel that she was being followed, and watched wherever she went, and this led to her going to find Edward of whom she found while he was on the way to the Kirin Tor tower south of the Magi fortress, and he was dismissive wanting to go quickly, and thus he lied to Candice and told her nothing was going on. This made her feel like she was being ridiculous in thinking she was being watched, and thus she let her guard down as the cultists - who were actually watching her heavily as she had brought a large military force into the port - spied on her, and prepared for an assassination attempt on her. During this time though her cousin Hedrin Tolhmave II. would become concerned after he saw several men watching Candice and he followed them, and watched them enter a tavern of which he followed them into, and when he did they entered a back room which after following them led him into a large tunnel system where he would have to kill both of the men after they discovered him following them. Leaving the tavern as quickly as possible he met Dylan Steinmare on the street and together they raced to find Candice Anthor and arrived just as cultists attempted to assassinate her.

“There has been an attack in the port milady We have heard word that cultists have attacked Lady Anthor,a nd even now fighting is still going on. What is your command Milady?”

— Main Hunder to Calia Menathil

The cultists had surrounded the port with nearly thirty men, and once Candice arrived they killed several sentries watching for violence, and then with the way clear they would move forward. As the cultists went to attack Dylan Steinmare, and Hedrin Tolhmave would arrive and scream to the guards that cultists were about and an attack was going to happen, and realizing they had been discovered the cultists would let off a horn and charge forward into the maelstrom. The fighting was intense but the guards now aware were able to repulse the horribly outnumbered cultists of whom had been relying on the shock of their arrival to succeed and Dylan captured one of the cultists but as they were taking him away the man was shot with an arrow from another cultist on a rooftop of whom then was able to escape.

Finding Information

Gemma, and Edward Cullen alongside Hilary Swift would have no idea what kindof nightmare they were walking into when they entered the tower of the Magi Medivh.

“That was the first time I saw evil in its purest form. Medivh was right. It was only after speaking to that one that I understood how limited I had been.”

— Edward Cullen

Arriving at the tower it was Medivh, Edward, Hilary, Gemma, Markus Flowers, and several of Medivh's men and Medivh would lead them as they moved to the top and discovered a single man chained to the floor and roof. Medivh explained to him that this man was evil, and that no matter what he believed after talking to the man he needed to understand that fact alone. He told Edward that everything in life was a choice though and he had the decision to make if he was going to be the man that was tricked by evil, or if he would be able to see evil in all of its forms and be able to defeat it.

The Rise of LucerneI saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.

I walked into the room and was shocked to find a man clearly brutalized chained to what was seemingly every piece of the room. "Why has he been chained so many times?"

"Do not be taken in by what you see on the surface. This man is beyond contempt. He has done things, and planned things that no rational human would ever do." Medivh walked to the man and raised his head so that we could see his face. His eyes remained closed but I saw nothing in his face that screamed that he was a monster. "His mind is completely the domain of a demon now. Nothing remains of what was once someone's child."

I moved closer to the man and as I did he must have realized my presence and opened his eyes. His eyes were sad, and despite the reservations I had due to what Medivh had said I found myself wanting to help this man. "How could you know that?"

Medivh walked away from the man and stood against the wall for a moment before speaking again. "Edward this is the moment you are going to learn about the demon within all of us. Your demon is slight but still there. You don't know the demon yet and that is something that you need to understand if your going to help your people through this. Talk to the man. Prove me wrong if you can."

``How are you so sure that you are right. Surely this could all be some kind of misunderstanding.`` I looked to Gemma and Hilary and when I did they had the same look of shock and confusion on their faces that I did.

``Edward there is going to come a moment when you are going to have to truly understand evil. You believe you have seen evil because you knew your friends brother. Sean Lovie was just one form of evil. Evil takes many shapes, and forms and it is very important that you understand that not everything evil will appear it at first.`` He didn`t say another word just walked away and left me to stand there with this injured man who didn`t look like he could harm a fly.

I stopped for a moment unsure of how to move forward, but when I looked around for Hilary I saw her waiting. Her eyes showed that she believed in me, and I knew I couldn't fail that kind of trust. Moving closer to the man I kneeled on the floor and spoke. "What is your name?"

He coughed a bit before speaking "Tilder Meanist of House Meanist."

He spoke with an aura of nobility despite the surroundings he was in or the condition, and that made me know very quickly that he was either a well of noble or one used to pretending he was. "What have you done to make my friend believe you a demon?"

He coughed again this time for a longer period of time before being able to speak. "I woke up and found myself in this tower with that monster doing...doing unimaginable things to my friends. He won't let me explain but I know you'll hear me...you'll believe me won't you?"

The man sounded utterly frantic, and the way he spoke of his friends made me wonder how much of all of this that Medivh had left out. "You need to tell me before I can say anything."

"This man believes me some sort of demon, but I just want the freedom of my people. Your a Lucernian I can tell. Your people were not meant to come here. This land..."He stopped and coughed again before speaking. "This land isn't yours. Listen to me none of that is important right now. That monster has killed all of my men, and left me alone while my family waits for me at home."

I looked at Medivh for a moment wanting to understand what was happening here. "What proof do you have Tilder that you are not a cultist?"

He looked hopefully at me, and I felt a slight tinge of arrogance come from him "The same proof I told the monster about. Talk to my wife. She will show you that I am who I say that I am."

"And if I speak to her and find a different outcome?" I could see Medivh in the corner shaking his head, and for a moment I looked at this young man before me and wondered if he truly was a demon. If he wasn't a demon then Medivh was a liar and that meant all of this could be some sort of trap.

"Then I am lost and you should kill me."

From the look on Medivh's face he told me silently that he knew where his wife was, and would take me to her. "Your putting a lot of faith in how one conversation will go arnt you."

"I have faith in what I see your eyes. You are a good soul, and I know you will try and do what is right."

"I will speak to your wife, and when that is done we will all know the truth."

"The truth will be known by all."

Edward would be told by Medivh where Tilder's wife lived and the group would leave the tower and go to find the women that Edward silently had no idea what would happen with. On one hand if she was truthful then he would know Medivh a liar. If she was a liar then he was a fool who had been tricked by a demon. On the way to the wife he spoke with Hilary who told him that she felt a horrible taint coming from Tilder Meanist. She wondered how he did not feel it, and he wondered why he was unable to sense what clearly so many around him were feeling. Medivh told him that his demon wasn't revealed yet, and when Edward finally understood he would know exactly why he couldn't see what was just beneath the surface.

“His wife was nothing more then a ruse meant to kill me. He knew his life was over and yet he wanted me to see death, and I suppose somewhere in his chaos mind he wanted me to see the death that filled that home.”

— Edward Cullen

Arriving at the house Medivh forced Edward to wait until thirty men from the Menathil's arirved, and then he allowed Edward to enter the home. Entering the home he found the skinned bodies of untold number of people all over the walls, and the decaying bodies of a young women, and two children sitting a table in the middle of the home with a giant hole in the ground. Medivh said he would explain everything after the ambush, and moments after this happened cultists came through the roof and a fight broke out which ended with the death of the cultists as the reinforcements were too much for the weakly armed, and trained cultists. Medivh would then explain as they carried away the bodies to be buried that Tilder was once a Magi of the Kirin Tor but had been removed due to the reading of banned Magi's and this had eventually led him to becoming possessed by a demon which had then proceeded to murder his wife and children and become a dangerous serial killer of whom killed dozens in Lorderon before the Kirin Tor finally caught up with him and took him under their custody.

Arthas Leaves

Arthas by this point was being told by his leadership core that the Kirin Tor had captured Tilder Meanist and with his capture any hope of keeping the Lucernian contingent from discovering the truth about The Scourge gone he begin plans to leave Lorderon for the north, and his true goal of getting Frostmourne. Gathering his commanders to him he would decide on leaving behind Elu-Kael Thuzad and it would be the objective of Kael to delay the forces of Lorderon and cause as much chaos as he possibly could, but then to make his way north to link up with Arthas who would wait for Kael at Fornost. Over the days that followed this decision they gathered to him his entire command structure outside of those who were staying and travelled north out of the city during the night keeping it as secret as possible, but unfortunatly despite this attempt there departure was discovered by the Dragonoph loyalist Per-Ruenya Menathil who would without delay bring this information to Sur-Talia Menathil. Arthas had left being information that he had travelled north in order to assist Marcel Lovie and thus when Talia went to the throne room she found this note detailing where he was saying he was going, but Talia had seen the change in her brother and didn't believe it instead sending Karl Donovan to bring information to the Lucernian contingent of what had happened. Karl Donovan would travel to their ships where he found the Hirshe brothers there and told them that Arthas had left the city and they both realized what this meant and thus they moved without haste to tell Edward about this. As this was happening Arthas as he moved out of Lorderon had a large fleet of dozens of ships transporting his men and in this movement they would travel to Kul Tiras where Arthas had unfinished business with his wife Jaina. Arriving with his fleet just south of Boralus they had slipped by the naval defenses as they were inside what was seen as safe waters when they left Lorderon and thus landed on the coast south of Boralus without alerting anyone to their presence. Landing his troops there he channeled a spell with his Magi leadership which gave him the location of Jaina who he discovered was located at the Tower of Toralus located west of Boralus, and with this knowledge he would march on the Tower of Toralus. The Tower of Toralus was lightly defended as it was a sort of estate for House Proudmoore and thus when Arthas's several thousand strong army arrived it was Jaina who sensed that it was Arthas and ordered her men to flee the tower before they were killed, and then she waited for Arthas to come to her. Arthas came to her alone inside the tower and seeing him clad in the evil armor he had been crafting for some time she prepared herself to die and refused to speak to the man in front of her as she knew in her heart that this was not her Arthas, but he did not strike her down instead he took her staff from her and placed Magi restraints on her restricting her magi abilities and then summoned troops who took her hostage. With Jaina in his hands he would return to the ships where by this point the troops of Jaina had not yet warned the main Boralus forces of what had happened and thus when Arthas's fleet passed Boralus they were not resisted by the large Kul Tiras navy thus allowing Arthas to escape with Jaina.

Taylor's Discovery

“Your grace my time there was filled with so many things, and I want you to know that the Dragon shall be heard throughout all the land soon. The cultists though were dangerous beyond anything I had ever heard of. They had infested the largest Temple in the entire capital and turned it into a den of demons and evil men.”

— Taylor Swift

Following the discovery by Edward that the cultists controlled the massive Great Temple of Lorderon he and his group would travel with Medivh back to the capital where they planned to attack the temple. As this was happening Taylor Swift and the Steinmare's would be told by a Dragon Priest that several Dragonoph worshipers had come to him to admit that they had been members of a cult in Lorderon and that the Great Temple of Lorderon was their headquarters of sorts. Disgusted that a Temple would be used for this purpose and despite the attempts by Dylan and Erica to stop her she would travel to the Great Temple and alongside Laera Steinmare would enter the Temple and using key words learned from the traitor cultists were able to enter the Temple. Entering the Temple they went through a recruitment process of sorts, but things begin to go bad after the cultist leading them around attempted to rape Laera and she stabbed him through the eye killing him and forcing them to hide his body while they escaped the Temple. Finding there way out wasn't easy though, and outside Dylan would meet with Edward telling him what had happened, and learning from Edward how serious the situation was they believed they had the proof they needed but Emile, and Josh Hirshe arrived to tell them that Arthas had left the city with a force in order to supposedly help Arnor, and Marcel Lovie. Edward told Emile, and Josh to go to the keep and force them to recall Arthas, and at the same time attempted to send word to Marcel Lovie of what was happening, but unknown to him the cultists were watching them, and the letters, and ravens were all intercepted meaning Marcel was not warned.

“We were but moments from showing him as the monster he was, and yet he slipped between our fingers. I would have killed him myself if I had thought it was possible to get through that kind of layer of guards.”

— Dylan Steinmare

Taylor Swift, and Laera Steinmare at this point would finally make their way out of the temple, but as Laera exited the door Taylor would be knocked on the head and the gate shut causing a siege of sorts as they attempted to break there way into the Temple. Forcing their way into the temple using the troops they had brought, they would fight against dozens of cultists of which forced the involvement of more troops and a battle broke out, but despite victory after the dust had settled they also found that there was no sign of Taylor, because she had been taken to the real home of the cultists of which was a large tunnel system beneath the temple itself. By this point the cultists were aware they had been discovered, and they would begin plans to launch the overall assault on Lorderon, and those traitor cultists would in these last moments release this information to the Menathil loyalists, or the Lucernians, or also in many cases the Magi of Kirin Tor.

Captured

“Edward I am being told that you kept all of this a secret from the people you brought with you, and I guess I wonder now in the privacy of this group...why did you not warn them of the dangers? Do you honestly think Taylor would have gone into that Temple had she of known what awaited her.”

— William Lovie III.

Captured by the cultists Taylor is forced to endure captivity for hours, as the cultists by this point are simply stalling within the tunnel system, and Taylor witnesses the leadership of the cultists flee the grounds to safety, while the few that remain behind in order to show resistance are weak old men, and ones they question the devotion of. During this torture she is somewhat protected by a young cultist of whom stops an older man from raping her, and she is saddened as he tells her of his life, but despite her attempts to get him to surrender he sees no life past this, and leaves her as Edward's force finally breaks into the tunnels. The cultists that are left are weak and are easily defeated leaving Edward in control of the temple, but as soon as he releases Taylor's mouth coverings she reveals to him that nearly all the cultists already fled, and those left were expendable to them. With the cultists destroyed Taylor reveals that the cultists are a part of a chaos cult led by Arthas Menathil of whom has not taken any true forces north to assist Marcel but is in fact taking monsters and demons of whom are planning great destruction. As they attempt to make their way out of the temple they find the route blocked by design, and they are unable to escape by means of the entrance, and instead must make their way through ancient tunnels out of the city. After days of travelling through the tunnels they find themselves in the fields far to the south of Lorderon and a note is left on the edge of the entrance on the body of a soldier with the sigil of House Scarlet on him.

“Congratulations on discovering the great secret of Lorderon. You are to be commended for seeing what many before you failed to see, but I must be the one to tell you that is the only thing you did right. You have failed to stop me, and now that failure shall play out in the destruction of Arnor. Perhaps if you had moved quicker. Perhaps if you had been smarter your people in Arnor wouldn't be dead.”

— King Arthas Menathil

Edward became infuriated by this and the realization that it was already well to late to save Marcel, or to do any of the good things that he knew in his mind he had to do in order to regain what he had lost. The army of Arthas had left nearly a week ago, and he knows that a raven will never reach Arnor in time to do any good, and he breaks down crying for his continued failure. Eventually calming down the group gathers themselves and make their way to a nearby village where they receive horses and make their way back to Lorderon to warn Arnor of the coming chaotic army. Back in the city Laera, Erica, and Dylan Steinmare retreat to the Menathil Palace, and rally the Lucernians to their cause as well as sending out word of the what everyone now knows will be a very large attack on Lorderon by a unknown amount of cultists.

Josh Hirshe, and Anna Kendrick had become stranded at the port and were forced to hide themselves with the garrison there. Taylor Swift and Emile Hirshe would retreat with the main force and retreated into the Menathil Palace, and it was here where they would remain as the palace came under siege by the forces of the cultists now bent on destroying the city. Candice Anthor in the port itself sends word to Kul Tiras in order to have them send aid, and it is this quick thinking that would eventually save the city, as noone in Lorderon had been willing to ask Kul Tiras for help due to the bad blood between Lorderon, and Kul Tiras as of late. It was at this point of the city coming under siege and the port preparing for the arrival of reinforcements that Anna Kendrick and Josh Hirshe of whom had come to hide within the keep in the docks would come to have an honest conversation with Anna admitting that she loved Orival Crane and Josh was just a distraction, and Josh admitted that he actually hated Anna and only was with her to cause embaressment to his brother. Josh would as their conversationd devolved into an argument demand that she sleep with him but she resisted not wanting this but despite her resistence he forced himself on her but just as he is about to rpae her she grabs his knife and slashes his face before also stabbing him in the shoulder and fleeing from the keep to the docks themselves.

New Leadership

“The Cult was something that had started to enter the frame of reality some time before we learned of Arthas's true face. The cult had abducted people, and burned buildings but for all intensive purposes it was little worse then a roaving band of criminals, and thus we didn't say much.”

— Imlad Menathil

Following the return of Edward Cullen to the city after his destruction of one cell of the cult that Arthas had formed it became clear to the leadership that Arthas had formed it in order to destroy Lorderon, and thus they went about dealing with the cult for the first time. After the conversation between William and Edward the decision is made to make Talia Menathil the new Lord of Lorderon, and she is given this immediatly after thus removing the taint of Arthas somewhat from Lorderon. This transfer of power doesn't go completely according to plan as during the ceremony for her gaining the title of Matriarch of the family, and the Arch Lord of Lucerne position the site is attacked by a force of cultists and many demons that a Magi with the cultists summons into the area. Edward, Gemma, and Hilary lead Talia out of the building and fight there way through waves of cultists, and are nearly trapped until a counter assault by Imlad Menathil breaks the attacking cultists and allows them to return her to the keep of Lorderon with her new power.

Conversation Incoming

Fairmarket. The Riverlands. Lorderon, and Kul Tiras. Westbridge. All had fallen to our might. All had sworn the sword to the Valley of Lucerne. All that power, and yet I looked north and saw a great demon the likes of which I could not hope to resist. The Empire was the reason for growth. The Empire was the reason for everything we did. The Empire was the land that should have done great things for the world, but instead of this they did nothing. They allowed chaos to breed amongst them, and in that weakeness and failing they threatened to ruin the entire continent.

"William there can be no doubt that Arthas has turned against us." He looked down, and I felt terrible, as both of us knew what this meant for Marcel. What little chance he had of defending Arnor was based on the army that Arthas said he was capable of bringing north, and if that army wasn't going to arrive then it all might be for nothing.

"This is terrifying news Edward as we know he has already disapeared from out eyes, and for all we know could already be inside Arnor. If he is there we know that Marcel is there, and I fear for what will happen." It was always unerving to hear William speak with anything other then confidence. His face moved from the vision and I knew he must be speaking to someone else. It was unfortunate that the only Magi stone that I was able to find was a one on one stone. This sort of conversation would have been much easier with a room stone.

"William we need to immediatly send word to your cousin that Arthas is under no cercumstances to be trusted."

"I will send word right now Edward." William left the vision, and I looked to my right to see that Imlad had entered the room, and he looked with wide eyes as he saw the means by which we were communicating.

"Its good to see you prince Imlad." He was wearing his eagle armor, and he looked everything that he should of, but his eyes told me a story about the fear he was feeling.

"You still have the presence of mind for titles in a time like this Edward?"

"When I was young my father told me that manners were important. I can't forget that lesson even while we are potentially surrounded by enemies and have a looming disaster in the north."

"The things our father's tell us when we are young." I would have laughed normally but the silence that followed made me shiver. It was minute after minute of this as we awaited the return of William, and I wanted him to come back to give me repreieve from the fear that filled the room.

"Do you recall anything about this cult before we learned of Arthas?" I had only learned of them a few months ago, and from the way Medivh spoke of them they must have been something that was talked of.

"The Cult was something that had started to enter the frame of reality some time before we learned of Arthas's true face. The cult had abducted people, and burned buildings but for all intensive purposes it was little worse then a roaving band of criminals, and thus we didn't say much." As he finished William reentered the vision.

"I have made the neccesary message sent, but I fear that the Order of the Blue Dragon representative that was with Marcel has apparently been killed, and we don't know what is happening at this time."

“Alone Talia was still too young and naive to be the Lady of a land that large, but lucky for us she wasn't alone. Lucky for us Calia, and Imlad were loyal advisors and didn't have their own agendas other then helping their family.”

— Edward Cullen

Talia would recall her sister Talia to her side, and alongside Imlad Menathil they formed a sort of Menathil council for the leadership of the land alongside Edward of whom advised them as best he could. Realizing the situation they were in they knew they needed more forces loyal to them in the city, and thus they decided to call the vassals, and ask for assistence from the nearbye Lucerne forces. As they begin to recall Menathil forces from the smaller villages, and towns they begin see that the cult had become aware of the situation and the cult summoned nearly its entire force into the capital and begin besieging sections of the city and ambushing and murdering loyalists to the Menathils. Sending word to the Riverlands, and Kul Tiras, and then the main Lucerne army south of Lorderon in the Scarlets, and the Cleganes they would beg for assistance saying that the streets were becoming a battleground.

“The arrival of Kael'Thuzad was a terrifying experience as he raised thousands of dead into his ranks turning a controllable situation suddenly into something far worse.”

— Edward Cullen

As fighting broke out in the streets Kael'Thuzad would abandon secrecy and led his command structure into the city where he and his other Magi would summon the dead to their side adding thousands into his ranks and causing great destruction. As this happened the citizens of Lorderon begin fleeing by boats in the dock out of the city, and those men that couldn't and the old would retreat into the Menathil Keep in the center of the city. Arming these citizens the defence of the keep would be expanded knowing they were defending to the last man. Edward Cullen, and Imlad Menathil led the defences with Edward using his Magi stone to alert the forces south of the wall of what was happening and making sure they knew they had to do something soon. Kael'Thuzad would raise buildings, and go about damaging the city, while he sent his commander Lord Gnarls eastward towards Kirin Tor where he was to capture the fortress and bring its knowledge back to him so that they could then leave for Arthas northward. Fighting would break out heavily in the port as the Cult would attempt to commandeer boats in their eventual search to escape, and they would be resisted by the navy of Kul Tiras of whom had sent many ships to blockade the city, and provide support.

“The Liche Ras Frostwhisper would come to the docks and I remember his look as he raised his hand and summoned creatures of darkness to him. He controlled them from the docks and I knew he alone had to be stopped lest he destroyed our entire fleet.”

— Derek Proudmoore

Battle at the Docks

Ras Frostwhisper would come to the dock and summoning hundreds of giant sea creatures that had long laid dead at the bottom of the sea outside Lorderon, and used these creatures to assault the fleet of Kul Tiras and push them back. The fleet was forced to pull back or risk destruction as these ancient creatures pulled entire ships under the water when they got close enough, and they were only able to destroy a dozen and lost nearly twice that number of ships in return.

Battle of Kirin Tor

“This place is a place of learning and peace, and you desecrate it with your very presence. Your beliefs are failed, and today you shall learn how much failure your moral decadence has caused for you and all those that stand behind you Lord Gnarl.”

— Medivh

Led by a mysterious Magi named Lord Gnarls the cultists would send a force to Kirin Tor as well in order to sack the Magi castle, and attempt to steal its stored knowledge for Arthas, despite the near impossibility of this task and then getting north. During the initial movement towards Kirin Tor turncoats within the fortress of Kirin Tor would murder several high ranking members of the Magi organization including the high leader in Antonidas leaving the council shattered and left with three of its members with Jaina also believed to be in the capital and not inside Kirin Tor. With their leader dead, and the council reduced Medivh would stage a sort of coup using his own forces and took control of the Council of Kirin Tor and would imprison the remaining members of Kael'Thuzad's family including his son who attempted to murder him when he took him prisoner. Medivh would lead the forces loyal to Lucerne in defense of the Kirin Tor and was able to use the superior defenses of Kirin Tor to massacre the initial wave of Cultists supported by demons that assaulted the fortress. As the battle reached the second wave though numerous Magi would turn to the side of Chaos, and the fighting got dire as the chaos cultists used these turncoats to enter Kirin Tor and were able to sack parts of the library.

“The Kirin Tor could not fall or else all of Lorderon could be destroyed through the knowledge they gained in that vault. I had to move quickly and take the situation into our control again or I watched as Lorderon fell.”

— Saiden Scarlet

As Kirin Tor became a battleground Saiden Scarlet would send Illen Purne one of his vassals alongside Kren Scarlet to relieve the Kirin Tor with a force of Kul Tiras, and native Lorderon troops. Arriving at the scene they found the cultist army flowing into Kirin Tor, and they would attack them from behind where the cultists were killed in huge numbers but managed to keep the Lucernians away for a time. Inside Lord Gnarls made his way through Vault after Vault inside Kirin Tor attempting to make his way to the deepest and most powerful infortmation, and as he did this Medivh would lead a skilled force of Magi and elementals behind him defeating Lord Gnarls luitenents one after another until both were nearing eachother. By this point Trimier would complete the summoning spell, and this allowed several dozen Blue Dragon Magi and their support troops to enter Kirin Tor, and they asisted in stemming the flow of cultists while the main army was defeated outside by Kren Scarlet, and Illen Purne.

Battle of Lorderon

“Reinforcements had come in their tens of thousands to the area, and the cultists were horribly outnumbered in terms of military power. Their defeat at Kirin Tor had left their leadership scrambling to find a new weapon now that Kirin Tor was held against them, and before they could me and Emmett would tilt the scales.”

— Leven Martell

Following the defeat of the Cultists at Kirin Tor two shadow council members would arrive in the form of Emmett McCarty, and Leven Martell of whom brought with them thirty men each from their houses and the most elite men they both had. The cultists had barred the main gates into the city and were defending them with great strength, but many smaller gates were less defended and it was through these gates that Leven, and Emmett would infiltrate through avoiding the gaurds through the assistence of several Violet Dragons that were still in the area. Now inside the city Leven, Emmett and their sixty men would fight their way to the keep where they found the Lucernian loyalists holding out within, and thousands of citizens hiding inside the walls for protection. Kael'Thuzad would marshal nearly his entire remaining force and pulled many if not all forces from the walls and brought them to the keep where he launched an all out assault. Thousands of demons and cultists charged the high walls of the keep, and the defenders led by Emmett, Leven, and Imlad would hold out against the inital assaults and cause horrendous casualties to the unprepared cultists attacking the walls.

“They broke through the eastern gatehouse, and I charged into the breach with all the reserve I had at my disposal. They were too many in number, and if we let them loose within the castle they would quickly massacre the people of Lorderon and the defenders in short order.”

— Leven Martell

As the attack of the Cultists failed all over it was Kael'Thuzad that went to the eastern gatehouse himself and using Magi alongside his commanders would shattter the entire gatehouse destroying it and leaving a massive gaping hole in the defences. Losing a significant amount of defenders Leven pulled all the reserves from the keep, and alongside her men and Emmett's men she and Emmett would charge into the breach and attempt to hold off the attacking cultists. The defenders were hardpressed to hold the massive numbers off but the untrained barely equipped cultists were cut down in droves, and this led to Kael'Thuzad ordering in several of his commanders including his second in command in Lord Voren of whom would kill many in front of him but was confronted by Leven Martell. Leven and Voren would fight one on one as the defenders slaughtered the cultists forcing many to attempt to retreat but these retreaters were killed by Kael'Thuzad of whom sent in Lord Savryn to deal with the situation. On the western gatehouse Imlad would murder the commander of the attacks there and charged his forces through the gatehouse and massacred hundreds of cultists forcing them to retreat southward, and allowing him to send several scouts to make the Lucernians come quicker.

Leven Martell would further her reputation during the battle of Lordeorn

“When Kael'Thuzad moved into the fray I could feel it. It was like this massive ball of electricty was moving towards us, and I couldn't let Leven, and Emmett fight that monster alone.”

— Edward Cullen

The scouts reached the Lucernian forces of whom were assaulting through the weakely defended outer walls, and moving slowly fearing it was a trap. Meeting the scouts Saiden Scarlet would understand it wasn't a trap and commanded all forces towards the keep with all haste, while he sent Mathew Clegane and his forces against the dock to deal with Ras Frostwhisper. Kael'Thuzad getting word that the army was only minutes away knew he had to move quickly to take the keep and then murder the population, so he waded into the battle himself. Fighting his way through his own forces he reached the front just as Leven, and Emmett killed Lord Savryn and pushed back Lord Voren. Smashing Emmett McCarty with a blast of Magi he flew back uncontious leaving Leven to fight against Lord Voren while Kael'Thuzad sent Magi blasts into the defenders of the breach killing dozens. Sencing Kael'Thuzad enter the breach Edward had left the southern gate and mvoed to the east where he reached the fighting and was able to block a spell that would have badly injured Leven. Fighting against Kael'Thuzad he and the Liche would battle for minutes until Lord Voren fell destroyed and Leven charged him as well turning the tide of the fight. Kael'Thuzad attempted to flee but was struck through the back by Leven's sword and destroyed. At the port Mathew Clegane would overwhelm Ras Frostwhisper with the support of Gemma Cullen of whom overpowered the tired Ras Frostwhisper but he retreated using a stone and disapeared alongside several of his commanders.

“Arthas's remnents had been crushed, but he was still loose, and where he was now was anyone's guess.”

— Leven Martell

With the death of Kael'Thuzad and the defeat of Ras Frostwhisper the skeletal elements and demons fizzled out of excistence, while the human elements of the cult were swiftly either killed or surrendered and made to live out the rest of their short lives in prison before they were executed. With Talia Menathil now Lady of Lorderon the population shifted back to the capital but was diminished from the numbers before as some one quarter of the city had turned to the cultists and were basically all dead while another quarter had died during the fighting leaving half the city dead. It was following the clean up that a letter came into the keep adressed to Edward Cullen, but it would be read by Leven Martell and the rest of the commanders inside the keep.

Conversation Incoming

Fairmarket. The Riverlands. Lorderon, and Kul Tiras. Westbridge. All had fallen to our might. All had sworn the sword to the Valley of Lucerne. All that power, and yet I looked north and saw a great demon the likes of which I could not hope to resist. The Empire was the reason for growth. The Empire was the reason for everything we did. The Empire was the land that should have done great things for the world, but instead of this they did nothing. They allowed chaos to breed amongst them, and in that weakeness and failing they threatened to ruin the entire continent.

I opened the letter and was still haunted by the name Arthas that adorned the front of it. I looked around and saw the looks of fear on everyone else over what could possibly be in the letter, and how he had known with such accuracy when we had cleared the city.

Lord Edward Cullen,

I am both shocked and excited by the prospects of your defeat of my cult. Created with hate, and violence it makes me proud that they have destroyed so much of Lorderon, and left you weakened. My commander Ras Frostwhisper tells me you managed to defeat Kael, and while I say that is a disapointment know that the dragon I have killed yesterday will make your kingdom quickly forget this victory you have achieved.

Know that you will find his body in Fornost, and know that I made him hurt before he died. Tell your king that he sent him to die, and this is exactly what I did for him.

One last gift for the King of the Valley.

In closing I wish for you the best. I hope you die swift, and quick deaths for you have defeated an oponent that should have lived forever. Know this though Lord Cullen, your time will come sooner then you could ever imagine. I have seen the future and you and your darkness council shall know death in your ranks very soon. You have longed to be a part of them, and you shall never be further away then you are right now.

Other Noteables

Vassal Houses

House Cleef

House Cleef is a large Vandal House located in the Kingdom of Lucerne that dominates the province of Northern Anthor and their seat lies in the town of Goldshire. House Cleef is the vassal of House Anthor, and they have been in this position for generations but after House Anthor was given a state to control House Cleef increased dramatically in power. House Cleef holds the province of Northern Anthor of which contains a large amount of mining that has made House Cleef quite wealthy despite the lack of a large population their seat in Goldshire has grown steadily due to the wealth.

House Cleef holds the province of Northern Anthor of which contains a large amount of mining that has made House Cleef quite wealthy despite the lack of a large population their seat in Goldshire has grown steadily due to the wealth. House Cleef is a heavy producer of Tin, and silver of which they mainly trade southward to Rome, but have made some trade deals in the northern direction as well.

House Cleef was knighted alongside House Anthor and during this time they were devestated by disease and lost many of their members thus leading to them becoming a vassal of House Anthor. This position would pay off after the Journey when House Anthor was given command of the newly created state of Anthor while House Cleef was given command of the province of northern Anthor.

Knightly Houses

House Tolhmave

House Tolhmave is a small Vandal House located inside Lucerne Hold within the Kingdom Of Lucerne. House Tolhmave is the knigtly house of House Anthor and was founded so that Burns Tolhmave could marry Elesia Anthor with the blessing of her brother.

House Tolhmave would begin after its first member in Burns Tolhmave fell in love with the sister of Varian Anthor and the two wanted to get married before the birth of their frist child. The only way to do this was if they married and then he founded his own knightly house so that she wouldn't be a commoner whore.